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Clje  Californw  ^cljool  of  flpetljanttal  ;arts 


FOUNDED  BY 

JAMES   LICK 


ADDRESS 


Vice-Prest.  Andrew  S.  Hallidie 


Annual  Observance  of  Founder's  Day 
September  21,  i  898 


.5 

S4CS5 


iVERSITY 


FOUNDER'S    DAY    ADDRESS 

BY 

ANDREW   S.    HALLIDIE. 


Students  of  The  California  School  of  Mechan- 
ical Arts  :  —  I  want  to  talk  with  you  in  a  familiar  way 
about  yourselves,  about  this  school,  and  about  the 
man  who  founded  this  school.  This  is  Founder's  Day, 
as  you  know,  the  twenty-third  anniversary  of  the 
day  on  which  Mr.  James  Lick  executed  the  deed  of 
foundation  of  this  school,  and  the  Trustees  feel  that 
they  could  not  please  the  founder  in  any  better  way 
than  in  assembling  you  here  in  your  working-clothes, 
and  right  out  of  the  shops  and  the  schoolroom;  and 
they  also  want  you  to  feel  that  on  this  day  he  is  right 
here  among  you,  happy  in  the  knowledge  that  he  is  putting 
you  in  the  way  of  growing  up  to  manliness  and  independ- 
ence, so  that  you  can  make  your  way  in  the  world  with 
those  habits  of  industry  that  make  men  and  women  happy 
and  cheerful,  and  make  those  around  them  happy  and  cheer- 
ful, and  bring  about  you  that  sunshine  and  brightness  that 
helps  us  all  along  when  we  ''don't  feel  good,"  or  we  feel 
blue,  or  homesick,  or  maybe  discouraged. 

Perhaps  some  of  you  think  you  are  having  a  hard  time, 
and  maybe  some  of  you  do  find  it  rather  difficult  to  get 
along;  but  you  will  find  out,  if  you  do  not  know  it  already, 
that  it  is  the  difficult  roads  we  remember,  the  easy  roads  we 
forget. 


473248 


2  ADDRESS. 

The  proof  of  courage  and  bravery  in  a  young  man  or 
woman  is  the  conquering  and  overcoming  of  difficulties, 
and  in  being  able  to  travel  over  those  hard  roads;  and 
although  you  may  have  to  sit  down  and  rest  once  in  a 
while,  you  are  thinking  while  you  rest,  and  rise  up  again 
invigorated  and  with  a  clear  mind,  and  have  found  out 
what  to  do  and  do  it. 

The  great  man  whose  memory  we  honor  to-day,  James 
Lick,  had  a  hard  struggle  in  his  youth;  and  when  he  was 
a  youth  there  was  no  such  school  as  this,  with  its  comforts 
and  conveniences,  its  tools  and  machines  and  apparatus, 
and,  above  all,  its  teachers,  who  are  able  and  willing  to  give 
the  best  of  their  mind  and  thought  in  teaching  you  to 
become  good  mechanics  and  respected  citizens.  James 
Lick  had  nothing  of  this.  He  had  to  work  early  and  late, 
doing  all  kinds  of  drudgery  and  hard  work  in  order  to  learn 
the  trade  of  cabinet-making.  And  he  learned  his  trade 
well, — so  well  that  when  he  was  seventy  he  could  fit  a  mor- 
tice and  tenon  as  well  as  the  best  mechanic. 

He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  town  of  Freder- 
icksburg, Lebanon  County,  on  August  25,  1796,  a  little 
over  102  years  ago,  and  died  in  San  Francisco  on  October 
I,  1876,  within  thirty-seven  days  of  eighty  years  of  age. 
His  father  and  mother  were  poor;  they  did  all  they  could 
for  him,  which  was  not  very  much. 

In  those  days  they  used  to  apprentice  boys  to  a  trade, 
and  usually  for  seven  years.  The  boy  had  to  get  up  at  5 
or  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  do  all  kinds  of  chores,  be- 
sides working  around  the  shop,  cleaning  it  up,  scraping 
castings,  waiting  on  the  men,  and  doing  all  kinds  of  odd 
jobs,  and  getting  occasional  cuffs  and  kicks;  and  this  would 
contmue  for  about  two  years,  with  little  opportunity  for 
learning  the  trade,  and  less  for  getting  any  instruction  in 
the  principles  or  the  theory  of  the  same.     While  I  do  not 


7ERSITT 


ADDRESS.  5 

think  James  Lick  spent  much  of  his  time  thus^  it  is  fair  to 
assume  that  he  had  to  take  his  chances  with  the  others;  but 
whatever  his  experience  in  the  shop  was,  he  came  out  a 
good  workman,  and  began  Hfe  as  an  organ  and  piano - 
maker,  evidently  with  some  Hking  for  music.  This  was  in 
Hanover,  in  the  same  State,  where  he  remained  a  short 
time,  and  then  moved  to  Baltimore.  In  1820  he  established 
himself  in  Philadelphia,  and  later  he  went  to  Chile,  and 
came  to  California  in  1847,  before  California  became  a 
State. 

It  is  said  that  in  his  native  place  he  fell  in  love  with  the 
daughter  of  a  miller,  but  on  account  of  his  poverty  the  mil- 
ler drove  him  away,  and  that  in  leaving  he  told  the  miller 
that  he  would  before  long  build  for  himself  a  much  better 
mill  than  he  owned.  This  he  afterward  did  in  Santa  Clara, 
where  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  mill-work  was  executed 
under  his  direction,  and,  in  part,  by  his  own  hands. 

Mr.  Lick  made  some  money  in  Chile  and  brought  it  to 
California,  and  from  his  operations  and  investments  made 
that  fortune  which,  among  other  things,  enabled  him  to 
found  this  school. 

The  hard  struggle  in  life  which  Mr.  Lick  experienced  in 
early  days  doubtless  set  him  thinking  about  how  just  such 
young  men  and  women  as  you  are  would  get  along,  and  I 
know  from  his  talks  with  me  that  he  had  had  this  very 
much  at  heart  for  many  years. 

He  himself  was  a  careful  and  painstaking  mechanic,  and 
despised  a  slovenly  way  of  doing  work, —  and  I  thoroughly 
agree  with  him  that  a  careless  and  slovenly  artisan  is  a  dis- 
grace to  his  calling.  In  a  trade-school  near  Philadelphia, 
the  founder  of  that  institution,  Mr.  Williamson,  in  his  charge 
to  the  trustees,  required  that  the  students,  above  all  things, 
should  be  truthful.     Mr.  Lick  was  equally  as  emphatic. 

You  have  all  learned  by  this  time  what  truth  in  work- 


4  ADDRESS. 

manship  means.  Let  me  illustrate:  You  have  a  try-square, 
and  in  squaring  up  a  block-  you  try  that  square  on  the  sides. 
Let  one  side  be  out  of  square  or  not  true,  and  each  and 
every  side  of  the  block  is  thrown  out  of  square  and  is 
untrue.  Sometimes  you  are  puzzled  to  get  it  exactly 
square,  and  bring  in  your  calipers  to  aid  you  in  getting  two 
sides  of  the  block  parallel.  Now,  this  is  all  right  for  the 
two  sides;  but  you  still  have  to  depend  upon  the  try -square 
for  at  least  one  of  the  other  sides.  Perhaps  a  very  careful 
examination  of  your  try-square  may  reveal  the  fact  that  it 
is  not  true  —  that  it  is  a  litde  out  of  square;  and  as  this  lit- 
tle is  increased  by  four,  by  the  time  you  get  around  the 
block,  the  incorrectness  becomes  very  visible  and  pro- 
nounced. 

Or,  suppose  in  boring  a  high-speed  fly-wheel,  or  a  wheel 
of  any  kind,  you  permit  the  boring-tool  to  get  a  little  out 
of  true,  or  your  wheel  is  not  properly  centered  on  the  sur- 
face-plate because  the  jaws  have  got  a  little  out  of  true;  the 
fly-wheel,  running  at  a  high  speed,  being  out  of  true,  is 
badly  balanced,  and  may,  while  running  under  the  tension 
of  centrifugal  force,  fly  to  pieces  and  do  a  great  amount  of 
injury.  So  you  see  truth  and  squareness  are  essential  for 
correct  work.  Apply  this  to  your  life;  and  if  truth  is  so 
essential  under  these  conditions  in  a  block  or  wheel  of  iron, 
how  much  more  so  must  it  be  when  applied  to  a  young 
man  or  woman  possessed  of  a  mind  of  reasoning  power  and 
responsibility  !  And  bear  in  mind  that  the  greatest  danger 
is  the  absence  of  truth  fundamentally^  the  same  as  in  the 
try-square. 

I  believe  that  you  who  have  been  taught  in  *  the  shops 
of  thsis  school  to  make  all  things  true,  will  be  true  in  all 
things,  and  one  of  the  greatest  desires  of  Mr.  Lick  will  be 
accomplished. 

Next  to  doing  things  well  is  to  know  how  to  do  things 


ADDRESS.  5 

well.  Some  mechanics  do  some  things  well  without  know- 
ing why.  While  a  lad  I  worked  in  a  machine-shop,  and 
there  was  a  man  there  who  could  bore  a  hole  and  turn  up  a 
piece  of  shafting  and  always  get  them  true  and  make  a  good 
driving  fit.  He  was  not  good  at  anything  else,  and  could 
not  tell  you  why  he  was  good  at  that.  In  this  school  you 
are  told  why  and  how  it  is  done.  If  you  are  faithful  and 
attentive,  you  soon  know  how  and  can  tell  why. 

Not  long  ago  the  safe' of  a  country  bank  could  not  be 
opened,  and  a  locksmith,  a  man  of  experience  and  good 
reputation,  living  in  an  adjoining  town  was  sent  for.  He 
came  and  tried  the  combination,  which  from  some  cause 
did  not  release  the  bolts  of  the  lock.  He  carefully  listened 
to  the  sounds  made  in  turning  the  combination;  and  as  he 
could  not  get  his  ear  in  position  to  satisfactorily  get  the 
sounds  he  wanted,  he  put  one  end  of  a  piece  of  straight - 
grained  wood  between  his  teeth  and  rested  the  other  end 
on  the  rim  of  the  disc  containing  the  combinations,  and  so 
conveyed  the  sounds  to  his  intelligence,  and  changing 
slightly  the  position  of  rest  of  one  of  the  letters  of  the  com- 
bination, he  opened  the  safe,  the  operation  taking  him 
about  twenty  minutes.  He  was  asked  the  amount  of  his 
charge,  and  said,  "  Fifteen  dollars."  But  the  banker  said, 
*'It  took  you  only  twenty  minutes  to  do  the  work,  and 
forty  minutes  will  cover  the  time  you  will  be  away  from 
your  shop.  I  will  require  you  to  make  me  an  itemized 
bill."     He  complied  with  the  request,  and  this  was  his  bill: 

Car-fare  to  and  from  shop $      lo 

Time  absent  (  i  hour ) i  oo 

Knowing  how 13  90 

Total |i5  00 

The  banker,  a  man  of  sense,  saw  the  force  of  the  last  item 
and  paid  the  bill. 


6  ADDRESS. 

This  banker  was  a  capitalist.  His  capital  consisted  of 
cash,  bonds,  and  securities  of  different  kinds.  Such  men 
of  capital,  through  misfortune  of  their  own  or  the  machina- 
tions of  others,  sometimes  lose  their  capital  and  their  for- 
tune. In  teaching  you  a  trade,  and  giving  you  a  gainful 
occupation  and  vocation,  this  school,  through  Mr.  Lick's 
generosity,  gives  to  each  of  you  a  capital  —  a  capital  that 
no  one  can  rob  you  of,  that  you  need  not  lock  up  in  a  safe 
deposit  or  bank  vault,  or  insure.  It  remains  with  you,  all 
times  at  your  command.  The  more  you  use  it,  the  better 
it  becomes.  If  circumstances  place  you  where  you  do  not 
have  to  work  at  your  trade,  the  training  you  have  received 
in  it  will  be  of  immeasurable  benefit  in  any  business  you 
may  take  up,  and  the  consciousness  that  you  have  that  in 
reserve  will  enable  you  to  maintain  your  independence  and 
integrity. 

I  do  not  propose  to  refer  to  the  mechanics  who  have 
become  great  men,  or  the  great  men  who  have  learned 
trades  as  mechanics.  You  will,  however,  find  this  an  inter- 
esting study. 

This  school  gives  you  an  especial  opportunity  to  get  on 
in  the  world,  and  it  appeals  to  your  appreciation,  in  con- 
sidering Mr.  Lick's  kindly  thoughtfulness  and  generosity; 
it  appeals  to  your  intelligence,  in  laying  a  broad  foundation 
on  which  you  may  safely  build  any  vocation  you  may  select 
and  that  is  taught  here;  it  appeals  to  your  pride,  to  become 
a  thorough  American  mechanic;  and  it  appeals  to  your 
moral  nature,  from  the  truth  that  is  ever  present  in  the 
work  you  are  doing.  The  desire  of  the  Trustees  is  that 
you  shall  carry  out  Mr.  Lick's  wishes  in  becoming  first- 
class  ^workmen,  good  citizens,  and  a  credit  to  this  city  and 
State. 

Think  what  a  record  for  good  and  honest  work  the 
Union  Iron  Works  and  their  workmen  over  yonder  have 


ADDRESS.  7 

made  in  the  building  of  the  battle-ship  Oregon!  You  all 
know  the  story  of  the  Oregon,  which  is  well  told  in  the 
September  number  of  the  St.  Nicholas. 

When  Mr.  Lick  founded  this  school  he  proclaimed  its 
object  and  purpose  to  be  to  educate  young  men  and  women 
in  the  practical  arts  of  life,  and  in  whatever  industry  intel- 
ligent mechanical  skill  now  is  or  can  hereafter  be  applied. 

I  have  addressed  myself  largely  to  the  young  men 
because  I  have  had  the  benefit  of  a  mechanical  training, 
not,  I  can  assure  you,  with  the  advantages  you  possess  in 
this  school,  though  my  hands  and  face  got  just  as  dirty  as 
yours,  and  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  felt  ashamed  of  it. 
From  that  training  I  have  derived  great  benefits  in  being 
able  to  understandingly  control  and  direct  men  and  carry 
out  enterprises  in  an  intelligent  manner. 

These  remarks  apply  with  equal  general  force  to  the 
young  men  and  women  educated  here;  and  for  no  one  do  I 
entertain  more  respect  than  for  the  woman  who  knows  how 
to  manage  her  establishment  in  whatever  position  she  may 
be  called  on  to  occupy.  If  she  "knows  how,"  she  pos- 
sesses an  immense  advantage  over  the  woman  who  does 
not  know  how.  I  called  on  a  family  last  June  in  New  York 
City,  and  found  that  the  daughter  was  attending  the  Pratt 
Institute  and  taking  a  two  years'  course  in  ' '  domestic 
economy,"  studying  to  be  able  to  either  manage  her  estab- 
lishment herself  or  see  that  it  was  properly  managed.  A 
friend  of  hers,  a  graduate  of  Vassar,  had  been  teaching 
Latin  and  Greek  at  a  pittance  of  a  salary,  and  had  later 
taken  the  course  of  domestic  economy  in  the  Pratt  Insti- 
tute and  graduated  with  distinction.  Her  services  were  in 
demand  at  a  high  Salary  in  teaching  the  "art  of  housekeep- 
ing" to  the  daughters  of  well-to-do  parents. 

If  young  women  knew  how  much  they  would  alleviate 
human  suffering,  how  much  they  would  add  to  the  comfort 


8  ADDRESS. 

and  duration  of  life,  how  much  they  would  save  in  house- 
hold expenditures,  how  much  respect  they  would  enforce 
from  their  domestic  help^  and  how  much  love  they  would 
receive  for  good  deeds  done,  they  would  earnestly  study 
these  things  that  are  taught  to  them  freely  in  this  school. 

I  have  great  respect  for  a  true  man  and  a  true  woman  — 
a  respect  far  above  ''gentleman"  or  ''lady,"  and  a  con- 
tempt for  such  affected  terms  as  "sales-lady"  or  "sales- 
gentleman." 

Let  us  here  prove  that  you  are  doing  your  best  to  be- 
come men  and  women  —  true  men  and  women;  that  under 
the  guidance  and  example  of  the  principal  and  the  teachers 
who  are  here  to  help  you  and  teach  you,  you  cannot  go 
astray,  but  will  become,  as  Mr.  Lick  intended  you  should 
become,  exponents  of  the  better  things  of  life  suggested 
by  habits  of  industry  and  honesty  and  by  skill  intelligently 
directed. 

The  2 1  St  of  September  has  been  decreed  by  the  Trustees 
as  a  day  to  be  set  aside  by  the  school  in  commemoration  of 
the  execution  of  the  deed  of  foundation  by  Mr.  Lick,  and 
the  exercises  will,  I  presume,  in  time  be  conducted  prin- 
cipally by  the  graduates  of  this  school,  who  having  received 
directly  the  benefits  of  Mr.  Lick's  thoughtfulness  and  gener- 
osity can  speak  of  their  benefactor  in  more  eloquent  lan- 
guage than  I  have  attempted  to  employ,  and  can  do  greater 
justice  to  the  memory  of  that  citizen  of  California  who  has 
done  so  much  for  this  State,  for  this  city,  and  for  you,  the 

children  of  his  school. 

A.  S.  Hallidie. 
San  Francisco,  September  21,  1898. 


3'HIS  BOOK  IS  riTT^ 

OVERDUE.  '^'•^O    ON    THE    SE^enTh*"^^" 


OF  THB 

TTI^IVERSITY 


6AYLORD  BROS.  Ir 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Stockton,  Calif. 


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